Cetara anchovies, colatura vinaigrette and sheep’s milk ricotta cream

Having listed the ingredients for preparing the marinated anchovies, we proceed with the remaining steps of the recipe.

For the bread and parsley crumble:
– 50 g panko breadcrumbs or 50 g dry breadcrumbs blended to a fine crumb

For the warm sheep’s ricotta cream:
– 500 g sheep’s ricotta
– 2 tablespoons of colatura di alici
– 50 ml fresh milk cream
– 1 tablespoon freshly grated Pecorino Romano
– white pepper

For the garnish:
– curly parsley
– basil
– fresh sprouts

METHOD

Clean the anchovies by scoring along the back after cutting off the head. Remove the entrails. Carefully remove the central spine without damaging the shape of the anchovy, leaving the tail and cutting the end of the dorsal spine with small scissors.

Lay the anchovies in a tray. Blast-chill to -40°C for 24 hours to sanitise. Then marinate the prepared anchovies with drops of fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, white pepper, freshly chopped parsley, lemon verbena and wild fennel. Add colatura di alici and a few drops of raspberry or apple cider vinegar.

Process the fresh sheep’s ricotta in a blender with 150 ml fresh cream. Add a note of pecorino and blend to a smooth cream. Add Cetara colatura di alici and lemon juice.

Prepare a crumble from fine breadcrumbs and parsley. Drain the anchovies from the very brief marinade. On a chopping board, fold each anchovy back on itself with the tail visible.

Spoon the sheep’s ricotta cream onto the base of a bowl plate. Arrange the anchovies on the cream — which should have enough body that the fresh anchovies do not sink. Finish with a light dusting of bread and parsley crumble and a small parsley leaf.

Recipe by chef Alfredo Iannaccone of Zen Food Lab, exclusively for Delfino Battista.